trex "rails" seem to rule wakeboardings rail riding scene, personally, i would like to see more rails, rounded skate style found in skate parks handrails and all over snowboard parks. It would be progression to see riders hitting things you need more balance for. To me a 40 ft. nosepress on a trex rail does not require much balance. It seems like rail riding is getting stale and to me this would progress rail riding to a new level. - i know there are some single round rails out there, but I would love to see more.

Just a thought. I would like to see actual rails instead of trex boxes in the sport.

thats all.

TheHebrewHammer

12-16-2011 12:52 PM

Good idea, but I doubt cable parks would be too big on this because people would be more likely to get hurt.

benjaminp

12-16-2011 11:37 PM

Pretty sure no cable parks use Trex, its HDPE, and yeah, this ^. Same reason snowboard parks still have more boxes than round rails. Fewer people can ride them, so they dont use them as often.

hrwboarder

12-17-2011 6:29 AM

McCormicks definitely has some Trex rails unless they've changed a whole lot since the last time I went, and I don't believe they have

wakeworld

12-17-2011 10:33 AM

I agree. It's surprising that the difficulty level has seemed to stop at flat rails. I suck and I can hit a flat rail! :) I do like the big pipe-looking rail at Hydrous.

efroote

12-17-2011 11:29 AM

word!!!! rails for all levers like snowparks!

LucasJsniderGettommysdotcom

12-17-2011 1:20 PM

i love all rails. if you want something more complicated grind concrete!!!!or build your own ghetto rail and become famous like tha shredtown crew

LucasJsniderGettommysdotcom

12-17-2011 1:22 PM

And i Agree that there should be more complicated rails out there. if you ride the ski ranch they keep the rails thin and the ollies high.

benjaminp

12-17-2011 3:59 PM

As an alternative perspective though, I am not very good on rails, so why would I go to a park where I cant hit half the obstacles? I'd rather head somewhere with more features that I can hit. And cable parks want my money, so they'll build stuff everyone can hit.

TheHebrewHammer

12-17-2011 4:23 PM

Pipes like the one at hydrous are really safe. It's not about the materials. It's about the shape. If you slip out or come off the side on a plastic box, you're probably going to slide painlessly into the water and maybe even ride away from it. If you mess up on a thin metal rail, you're probably going to get smacked on the way down or maybe even caught up in the understructure of it and seriously injured.

captain_vilfo

12-17-2011 5:21 PM

pcp pipes would be a good substitute. They definitely up the difficultly and keep the danger level to a minimum

paulharenberg

12-17-2011 5:58 PM

Cable parks don't need hand rails, too many people too dangerous. If you want one build your own. I know I wouldn't hit one with my current rail skills. But hand rails have been done. I forget the video its like 2002 or 2003 with Parks, Shane, Watson and others doing hand rails at powell or some place that looked kinda like it. I want to say "My Side" but it could be another video that came out around that time. If i get a chance I will try and figure the exact video for sure.

Tommy

12-19-2011 10:39 PM

ERC is going on a pretty cool path this year experimenting with rails that can be shipped fairly easy, easy to assemble and easy to float. They want their parks like ours to not be stale so we are going to rotate several a year and change about every two weeks or when it makes sense. I think all you guys have great points and this is what is exciting about cable and rail riding. It is where the skate mentality comes back in and creativity never stops. ALL you guys are right that we need to push for new challenges and I think all of you need to jot your ideas down and if you want to share them or build them, lets talk so we can take the sport higher!!!!!!! I am proud of all of you guys for wanting to take it to the next level. We have done a good job but it is time to reach farther up and make this stuff as cool as the skate guys have. Thanks for letting me vent! Love this forum!
Tommywww.gettommys.com.

Nick77

12-20-2011 1:37 AM

I think the way it will go in the future is a combination of flatbars and rails/pipes.
I'm from Sweden. We have 2 fullsize parks that both opened this summer. We already have a demand of more handrail like technical stuff. We have a lot of skiers and snowboarders here, and if we want these guys into the sport, we need to have rails that are as demanding and like ste stuff they use in the wintertime.
Look at the new Nico rail from Unit. I think that is where it's going in the future. A perfect cablepark can have, and should have it all. From boxes and flatbard to technical pipes. I think the whole rollercoaster stuff is going out. Pipes don't have to be dangerous. They just have to be build in the right way.

TheHebrewHammer

12-20-2011 1:58 AM

Good to hear^^^

It often seems to me that there's a growing feeling in wakeboarding that pipes/rails have to be more dangerous to be "legit," and I think that's just stupid. It's fine to marvel at the death-defying feats of Travis Rice and the Art of Flight crew, but they're off doing that stuff themselves in the backcountry. If you want to do some crazy **** on a wakeboard, go winch a sketchy dam. I'd like to see more technical rails at cable parks, but I think it's important to maintain the distinction between safe but technical and dangerous for the sake of danger.

fly135

12-20-2011 7:11 AM

Pipe rails are the way to go. Flat rails are like training wheels. OWC finally got a rounded rail and it is so much more fun. Grandma can ride a flat rail. Grandpa wants a rounded one.

Cable parks need more diffucult rails. Id rather not go to different cable parks to hit the same features. It takes way more balance and skill to hit a handrail rather than a box.... I want more hand rails!!

asdfgboy

12-20-2011 9:17 AM

go for pcp pipes, my friend told me that pcp was best substitute.

wakemitch

12-20-2011 10:04 AM

If you dont want to be bored with rail riding, wakeskating is the way to go. The combination of tricks in and out of slides are endless and take a lot more precision. And instead of nose or tail presses, people are doing locked in noseslides, tailslides, blunts, and crooked grinds.

whoa!!!! i never said for cable parks, thats up to you and your local cable.. , I want to see pro riders step up their rail features, its weird to see an edit of a "top rail rider" and only see trex "boxes" if rail riding is going to progress i think it could progress in one way by seeing less trex boxes.

daveronix199

12-20-2011 1:13 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Unit has been stepping up the game... This is a floating stair set... I'm pretty sure it costs a lot.... you'll see more of unit stuff in the future for sure....

Luker

12-21-2011 7:27 AM

I think the FISE set up, and alot of the 2.0 stuff that went down in Europe this year was pretty innovative. Wakelab, the unit quarter, and a few other things come to mind as well.

Rail riding isn't stale in my opinion. You just have to know where to look. And your local cable park that is just trying to make a buck isn't the place. They will always appeal to the masses because that's what puts food on the table... cant really blame them either. A lot of the Euro contests have it figured out.